I am researching a beekeeping project in a region that produces these foods, but I would like some words on pollination from the women and men who know bees best. Thank you. ANY and all comments in this regard are extremely useful.

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Anonymous

You will see honey bees working all the below vegetables and fruts when they are in bloom. I can not say how much the bees get from some of the things Like Beans and tomatoes. Have never seen them in any of the cereral corps, don't really consider them to bloom/flower. More like corn and use wind boren pollen.

Flower of tomato needs shaking ofter that pollen come off. In greenhouses they chake plants or some use bumble bees for pollination.

Onions have plenty of nectar for bees. Same with melons.

Cucumbers some needs pollination and some not. Some cucumbers will be spoiled if it is pollinated (long green in greenhouses). Many lemons need pollination because they have "boy" flowers and "girl" flowers.

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Fruits grapes, apple, apricot, peach ,pear, and pemegrout

Many fruit trees have self breeding protection and they need another variety to give pollen. Some apricot and peach are self pollinating. With cross pollination they make bigger fruits.

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Legumes (chickpeas, lentils and green beans).

I think that it depends on species. Trifolium need cross pollination. It depens been if they need. I had bees near 6 hectar bean field, but there was any bees. Been species are so many.

Many plant varietes have developed to produce fruits, cucumbers etc. without pollination.

Sunflowers for sure - very big in France I believe. I've seen bumblebees all over the sunflowers we keep in the garden. I've got some good pictures as well if you need them.

Soft fruit, apples, pears etc are well known for neededing honeybees for effective pollination. Many orchard owners pay for this pollination service and beekeepers move hives from location to location to maximise profits and to keep the bees on plants on which the nectar is available.

Just one comment, not all bees ppollinate all types of crops, some are suited to the Bumblebee only as it's bigger, and vice versa the honey bee as it's smaller. Is it only honeybees you are interested in?

If you are sending them to seed, Red Mason bees are supposed to really like working them. I've been reading up on them recently, (well, as of about 5 hours ago when the book arrived in the post at work!!)

I've just acquired two Red Mason Bee "hives" for pollinating my vegetables, and I'm just about to start a Bumble Bee box as well.

A red Mason "tube" is like this:

A larger tube:

These suit both the red and blue Mason Bee (Osmia rufa) and (Osmia coerulescens)

Pollination in soya occurs before the flower opens, and remaining pollen is largely infertile by the time the flower opens and is visited by bees and other insects. The pollen has proved nontoxic to seven local pollinating species known to visit soya fields.

conifers are airpollinators (or is it wind pollinators?). My bees like to collect Pinus mugo pollen in summer. They bring big light yellow balls to hive. I have not found if they gather from scotsh pine or pruce.